Scottish Senior Women's Champion

Fiona De Vries

Congratulations to Fiona on becoming the 2017 Scottish Senior Women's Champion. 

To play during the relentless rain of this week and go on to win speaks volumes about Fiona's skill and determination.

A special mention for Jennifer Bryans.  

Jennifer qualified 16th in the Championship Match play and reached the quarter finals by beating the number 1 seed and winner of the stroke play event in the first round. (thanks to Karen Ballantyne). 

Congratulations to Diane Moncrieff who reached the semi finals of the Nett match play and to Mairi Pollock and Karen Ballantyne who reached the quarter finals

COUNTY FINALS

The county Finals will be held at Glenbervie Golf Club, Larbert from 15th - 17th September 2017.

Participating Counties are:

Dumfriesshire

Midlothian

Perth & Kinross

Renfrewshire

Dumfriesshire were the 2016 winners and will be keen to retain the title.  Midlothian will be doing everything they can to bring it back to the capital.  Come and support.

Junior Girls latest news...

Good luck to Carys Irvine, Lucy Morrison and Hannah Darling competing at the Scottish Girls Championship tomorrow (Friday 30th) at Scotscraig and Drumoig.  Hopefully tomorrow will be a dry day for the girls. 

Scottish Senior Women Championship, Rosemount GC, Blairgowrie

Finals - Friday afternoon

Championship
Fiona Devries (1 up) v  Sheena Wood (19th)

Nett
Sue Hollwell (2 holes) v Gillian Wallace (7/6)

Commiserations to Diane Moncrieff - well done on getting to the semi finals.

Good luck to Fiona, play well.  We're right behind you.


Semi Finals - Friday morning.

Championship
Fiona De Vries (mclga) is 2 up at the 13th against Gillian Kyle.   Fiona beat Mary Smith 5/4 and Gillian beat Heather Anderson 2/1 in the Quarter finals.
Lorna McKinlay is 1 up at the 12th against Sheena Wood.   Sheena beat Jennifer Bryans (mclga) by 1 hole and Lorna beat Anne Ryan by 2 holes in yesterday's quarter finals.

Nett
Diane Moncriell (mclga0 is all square with Sue Holwell at the 12th.  Diane beat Sheila Stirling 4/3 and Sue beat Mairi Pollock (mclga) 6/5 yesterday.
Gillian Wallace is 5 up at the 9th against Majorie Ahern.  Gillian beat Jennifer Mack 4/3 and Majorie beat Karen Ballantyne (mclga) in yesterday's quarter finals.

Congratulations to all Midlothian players who qualified for the match play stages
Championship match play results for first round
Jennifer Bryans, Harburn GC, won against Frances Millar, Carnoustie Caledonia GC (2 up) and faces Sheena Wood, Aberdeen Ladies GC.
Wendy Nicholson, Baberton GC, lost to Anne Ryan, Tain GC, (22nd hole)
Fiona De Vries, The St Rule Club, won against Anne MacGregor and faces Anne Ryan.

Nett match play results
Diane Moncrieff, Carrickvale GC, won against Sandy Bushby, Blairgowrie GC (3/1) and faces Sheila Stirling, Royal Mid-Surrey.
Mairi Pollock, Craigmillar Park GC, won against Margaret Thurston, Panmure GC, (3/1) and gaces Sue Holwell, Lingdale GC.
Karen Ballantyne won against Millie Douglas, Aberdour GC, (4/3) and faces Marjorie Ahern, Lahinch GC.

Good luck in your games this afternoon.

Winners!

What a Fantastic Team

Winners of the 2017 Inter County Qualifying Tournament


Karen Marshall (with Mikaela), Louise Fraser, Kate McIntosh, Caroline Steedman, Karen Ferguson-Snedden,
Gabrielle MacDonald, Hannah Darling, Alison McBride (with Mini Mac).
 

 

We came to Stirling fully focussed on the task - to win a place at the Scottish Finals at Glenbervie in September. And did they do it in style! - winning all three matches in style - East Lothian on Monday 6.5 - 2.5, Fife on Tuesday 8 -1, Stirling & Clackmannan 7-2.  Full scores can be found on Kirkwood Golf.

All players played a part in these victories displaying great skills on a challenging course with very difficult greens.  Once again members volunteered to caddy and made an invaluable contribution to the team's performance - thank you.  Special thanks to our two reserves, Hannah Scott and Susan Rennie, who caddied on all three days and contributed to the team spirit in a major way. Linda Wemyss, our selector, and Norma Richmond, President, worked hard watching and supporting players and myself and Louise, Vice Captain, - we couldn't have done it without you. 

As a player from the Bronze division, I would like to urge all Midlothian members to come and support these players at first hand and enjoy watching the golf of our dreams!  The Finals will be at Glenbervie 15th - 17th September 2017.  A great opportunity to watch great golf just on our doorstep.







Inter County Qualifier, Day 3

Games this morning showed a super level of golf skills with the first and third matches going to the 18th & 17th respectively. The second match was won at the 15th.

Alison McBride & Gabrielle MacDonald   v    Mhairi Hall & Louise MacGregor  2/1
Louise Fraser & Hannah Darling  v  Linda Allan & Margo Gardner   6/4
Karen Marshall & Kate McIntosh  v  Laura Bissett & Alison Davidson 1 up

 The standard of golf this morning was excellent and we are looking forward to competitive, skilful games this afternoon.

Inter County Qualifier Day 2

We woke up to heavy rain and I think we will go to sleep with heavy rain.  It has rained relentlessly to the extent that the buggy I was using had a squeezy roller in the back in case a green needed some attention.
Our opponents today were Fife, who had lost to Stirling and Clackmannanshire yesterday. As usual the morning was three foursome matches and we played very well to take all three points.

Alison McBride & Gabrielle MacDonald                v    Elaine Moffat &n Anna McKay            6/4
Kate McIntosh & Karen Marshall                            v    Jo Mackie & Evanna Hynd                    4/3
Karen Ferguson-Snedden & Caroline Steedman      v    Karin Sharp & Brogan Clark                 4/3

The rain continued throughout the lunch break and our six singles matches teed off in a downpour.  Fife tried to bamboozle us by changing their playing order so that their two strongest players were bringing up the rear but our players were up to the challenge.

Gabrielle MacDonald        v       Lorraine Morrow             7/6
Kate McIntosh                   v       Brogan Clark                   6/4
Hannah Darling                 v       Evanna Hynd                   1 up
Caroline Steedman            v       Karin Sharp                      1 down
Karen Ferguson-Snedden  v       Elaine Moffat                   2/1
Louise Fraser                     v       Jo Mackie                         5/3

Final score = 8 - 1

An excellent result by players who played very skilfully in two rounds of continuous rain over a challenging, hilly course.  A special mention to the caddies that pushed the trolleys and supported and on occasion guided the players to well earned victories.

Tomorrow we face Stirling & Clackmannanshire in what will be our most difficult task yet.  They are lying on exactly the same points i.e. 14.5 for & 3.5 against.  A win is what we need and we are determined to play our hearts out to bring back the trophy and earn our place in the Scottish Finals in September at Glenbervie GC.

Inter County Qualifier, Stirling Golf Club

Midlothian met East Lothian today in the first of their three matches in a bid to win the trophy that will give them entry to the County Finals in September.

Louise Fraser and Kate McIntosh led the way against Lauren Lee and Lesley Atkins in a competitive match that went to the 18th and finished all square.  Hannah Darling, making her debut for the County, partnered Karen Marshall against Stacey Cameron and Jill McNicol.  After a hesitant start, Hannah settled into the excellent golf we are becoming accustomed to watch and they went on to a win at the 16th.  Gabrielle MacDonald and Alison McBride played steadily and consistently to win easily 8 & 7.  All players produced skilful performances in all aspects of the game.

In the afternoon it was singles and we won four of the matches -
Louise Fraser - Stacey Cameron 6 & 5
Hannah Darling - Pam Hall 6 &4
Karen Ferguson-Snedden 4 & 3
Karen Marshall 7 & 6
Again each of these players demonstrated great skill around the greens after long drives and approach shots.

Interestingly Alison McBride and Caroline Steedman both had eagles in their battles to turn the tables on Lesley Atkins and Mary-Lou Watkins respectively.  Both were down and fought hard to stay in the match and almost made it - Alison lost on the 17th and Caroline on the 18th. 

Final Score: Midlothian 6.5 East Lothian 2.5

Tomorrow we meet Fife in what is predicted to be very heavy rain!!!

Club Championships Update

To all members - send an email to Jacky Burnett [Jackyburnett13@gmail.com] to post your championship results - semis and finals.  Please send details about your Bronze championship too

Liberton
Silver - Jill Mclean won on 17th beating Stephanie Sutherland in a close fought final. 
This was Jill's 5th final so extra well done!

Bronze - Gillian Fisher won beating Roslyn Marshall

Carrickvale

The championship semi finals were contested by

Jacqui McIntosh v Diane Moncrieff - Diane won 3 and 2

Donna Fleming v Helen Hunter - Donna won 2 and 1

The final was Diane Moncrieff  v Donna Fleming, Diane won 6 and 5

Craigmillar Park
Karen Ballantyne won the championship on the 18th  beating Emma Morrison  to go 1 up.  It was a brilliant match, taking her total to 6.  Adding to a total that started in 1989!

Harburn
Well done Alison McBride, who beat Jennifer Bryans to become the Harburn champion.
The Bronze championship was won by Janet Graham who beat Annie Leitch.

Kingsknowe
Denise Christie beat Maureen MacKay to win the Bronze.

Louise Fraser and Rachael Livingstone had an epic battle in strong winds.  Louise was two up by 4th but it was all square again by the 6th.  From then, each time one went up the other pulled her back to all square.  Rachael managed to get the edge at the 20th and became the Ladies Champion.  A great game.

Baberton.
The semis of the ladies bronze championship took place on Friday 23rd June.
Ella Marshall beat Lisa Macpherson and Olga Greenan beat Julie Robb.
On a windy Saturday 24th June Ella Marshall beat Olga Greenan in the finals.

The semis of the Ladies Club Championship took place again on Friday 23rd June. where Karen Marshall beat Pamela Williamson and Carys Irvine beat Wendy Nicholson.
In a closely fought match on Saturday Karen Marshall beat Carys Irvine, the youngest ever finalist at Baberton, to become the 2017 Ladies Club Champion.

Ratho Park
Silver Final;         Anne Wheelhouse beatCaroline Mansley
Bronze Final;       Ah Nya Plant  beat  Liz Samuel

Murrayfield 

The 3 Steedman Girlies have done the treble! 

Caroline played Val Aitchison & won on the 17th hole with a birdie to win the Ladies Champs for the 3rd time. 

Rachel played against Pam Townsend & won 4&2 with a par, defending her title for the Ladies B Champsionship.

Abby also retained her title playing against Sophia Gonzalez & was 1 up on the the 18th with a par. 

Vicky Gumley won the Bronze Champs against Liz Mendl Cooper winning 2&1.

Newbattle
Championship:           Barbara Hamilton beat Claire Allan on 18th
Bronze:                       Leslie Currie beat Cath Hardwick 3 and1

Merchants

Merchants had four Midlothian members in the Semi finals of the Championship on Friday 16th.   

Margaret Parr beat Jane Macdonald
Isobel Halliday beat Norma Hogg.
Finals on Saturday
Chamionship       Margaret Parr won 2&1
Bronze                 Sally Cownie beat MaggieMcKenzie 2&1

Mortonhall
Championship;          Anne Brownie beat Viv Curran at the 35th hole (36 hole final)
Bronze;                      Diane Neave beat Jessica Walker

Broomieknowe
Hannah Darling beat Kate McIntosh to become the Ladies Champion.
Tricia Capaldi took the Bronze Championship playing against Moyra Statham.

Dalmahoy
The Club Championship was won by Kim Horne, beating Amy Foster 4&3 despite Amy only being 3 over par at the turn.   The Handicap knockout championship was contested by Linda Stewart and Joan Maclean with the match going to the 20th (result to follow!)

Prestonfield
Congratulations, to Naomi O’Brien (aged 14) who won the Bronze Championship at Prestonfield Golf Club on the 10th June 2017.   She played in 3 qualifying rounds and was seeded in the top 8.  
In the final round she started with an impressive Birdie on the first by chipping in from under a tree.    It was a hard fought match which went to the 18th hole.    However, she managed to hold her nerve throughout the match.    A true Champion in the making.

Commiserations to Liz Taylor who lost the final of the Silver Division to Rachel Smith at the 16th.

Kingsknowe
Kingsknowe ladies have been competing in their Championship this week with the semi finals being played tonight - Thursday 15th June.

Championship Finals day is Sat 24th June with the Ladies Championship final being contested between Louise Fraser and Rachael Livingstone and the Bronze Championship between Denise Christie and Maureen Mackay.
Good luck to all.

Turnhouse

Congratulations to Susan Rennie who is the 2017 Turnhouse champion.

Susan Rennie held out to become Ladies' Champion at the second extra hole in a closely contested match against Morag Wardrop. Both players also battled against the weather, especially during the final holes.

Bronze Champion Clem Douglas won at the 19th, beating Gill Hunt.

Congratulations to all who qualified.

Results from 9 hole event at Swanston on 18th June 2017

9 girls played today and for once the weather was pretty good! Scores were as follows:

Devon Boyle 37

Brodie Boyle 39

Morganne McQueen 40

Erica McIntosh 42

Lara Collings 42

Heidi Miller 53

Martha Johnston 54

Ruby Keys 74

Holly Reed (5 holes) 38

There is no 9 hole event next month, as it is holiday time.

International Debut for Hannah Darling

Congratulations to Hannah Darling from Broomieknowe Golf Club who has been selected to represent Scotland at the European Junior Masters in Oslo next month.  Well done, Hannah.  Hopefully it will be the first of many international honours.

Well Done, Hannah

Congratulations to Hannah Darling for an excellent result in the Stephen Gallaher Foundation Trophy & Vase competition held at Cardrona GC last weekend.  Hannah finished 4th behind Jillian Farrell (0) Cardross GC, Jasmine Mackintosh (1) Hazlehead GC and Kirsty Brodie (3) Strathmore doing a great job of keeping the Midlothian flag flying high.  This week Hannah is competing in the Broomieknowe Championship against another two stalwarts of the Midlothian squad - Kate McIntosh and Hannah Scott.  Good luck to them all.
It is a Championship time in many of the County clubs and I would wish all members who are competing the very best of luck - play well and hopefully enjoy.

Hannah Darling is making her debut for the Midlothian team in the Inter County Qualifier at Stirling Golf Club from Monday 26th until Wednesday 28th June.  We have a great team led by Louise Fraser, 2017 County Champion, who would all appreciate your support.  Come and watch some top class competitive golf.

Hannah Darling - Broomieknowe
Karen Ferguson-Snedden - Duddingston
Louise Fraser - Kingsknowe
Karen Marshall - Baberton
Gabrielle MacDonald - Craigielaw
Alison McBride - Harburn
Kate McIntosh - Broomieknowe
Caroline Steedman - Murrayfield
Reserves
Hannah Scott - Broomieknowe
Susan Rennie - Longniddry

Scottish Women's Amateur Championship 2017

During what must have been one of the worst June weeks in years, a number of our top Midlothian players ventured up to Aberdeen to compete in this year's championship.

Gabrielle MacDonald, Karen Marshall, Louise Fraser, Hannah Scott, Fiona De Vries, Karen Ferguson-Snedden, Wendy Nicholson, Kirsten Blackwood and Caroline Johnston entered hoping to emulate Gabrielle's success in winning the trophy.  Unfortunately the opening day, Tuesday, turned out to be horrendous - wet and windy.  Understandably scores were low by these players standards, so hopes rested on a turnaround on the second day but it wasn't to be.  Play was delayed and delayed then finally the high winds won and the second day's play was cancelled and entry to the match play depended on one score only.

Congratulations to Gabrielle, Karen M and Karen F-S and Hannah who qualified for the match play stages of the Championship with Wendy and Kirsten qualifying for the Plate competition, the Clark Rose bowl.    Fighting hard all the way, but it was not to be our year, with all players in the Championship  going out in the morning.  Well done Wendy and Kirsten, who did well to make it to the next round but went out in the afternoon.

Congatulations to Connie Jaffrey [-3] from Troon GC who beat Clara Young [-2] from North Berwick GC.


The next big event for the County is the Inter County Qualifier at Stirling Golf Club

Monday 26th June - East Lothian

Tuesday 27th June  - Fife

Wednesday 28th June - Stirling & Clackmannanshire

Play starts each day at 0930 and 1430 and the players, officials and caddies would love to be joined by supporters.